Tripping Through
by IFlipForHarryPotter
Summary: Harry Potter is only four years old when he finds a confusing object while gardening in Aunt Petunia's back yard. He trips and gets transported back in time after breaking the device. No one knows who the little kid who looks just like James Potter is or where he came from, but truth be told no one really cares.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, it's all J.K. Rowling's and do I LOOK like her? No. Therefore this isn't mine.**

**I've been inactive for a while, but I'm going to take another stab at this story. So this means a re-vamp and hopefully a better thought out plot-line/writing. I would hope so since it's been like 2+ years since I've posted last haha.**

**It'd be nice if you guys could leave a kind review of any kind at all. Anything at all would be great to be honest.**

**(Oh, and please excuse any spelling mistakes…you can point them out if you want to and I'll try to fix them later)**

**Chapter 1: The Start**

"Up! Get up!" Aunt Petunia's shrill voice rang throughout the house. "I up, I up." replied the sleepy four year old Harry Potter, who woke up to the dim, and musty, bottom of the stairs. Aunt Petunia tapped her foot, as she waited for Harry to dress, with a scowl adorning her face. As soon as the boy toppled out of the small opening, she bent down and put her pale, long face right next to his, "Come on, I need you to weed the flower beds, and get breakfast ready. _Now_." She then sniffed and walked away leaving a slightly awake Harry getting his wits together in the hallway. He waited until his aunts' salmon pink dressed whipped around the corner then began to stumble his way down the hallway and into the kitchen, all the while rubbing his eyes and leisurely stretching.

Upon his entrance, his eyes landed on Aunt Petunia struggling to light the gas stove and grasping at the ingredients needed for the meal. Trying to make as little noise as possible, Harry sidled into the room and fetched the appropriate utensils and dishes for eggs and bacon. His little feet shuffled across the tile as he made his way to the cabinets and back. Aunt Petunia had just finished frying the bacon when Uncle Vernon lumbered down the stairs directly above his room.

Harry, being anxious of the presence of his large uncle, developed a slight shake in his hands and loudly clinked the glasses together that he had been carefully lugging to the table. He froze, but Aunt Petunia just stared at him for a couple seconds with her nose high in the air before sniffing and getting back to cooking, her hair bobbing slightly as she shook her head at his mistake.

Uncle Vernon entered the room with a few shuddering footsteps and then collapsed onto the chair directly across from where Harry was standing. His moustache rippled as his lips curled in slight disgust at the sight of his unruly nephew, but once again, Harry was ignored and went back to setting the table.

Harry was miserable at the Dursleys'. He was starved, and Dudley (At the lovely age of four) loved to use Harry as a punching bag. The game was ten points if he managed to break his glasses, and twenty if Harry started to cry. He didn't get the twenty points often, however, since Harry was used to the constant tormenting and could slightly detect when a Dudley ambush was about to occur. It also helped that he was significantly skinnier, and faster, than his whale of a cousin,

Aunt Petunia put a stop to his contemplating with a sharp "Weed. Go." Harry took this to mean no breakfast (as per usual) and scampered out of the house as she shooed him away. He was glad he could escape Dudley's antagonizing for the morning, but his rumbling stomach suggested otherwise. His cousin enjoyed picking fights and it didn't help that his parents played along with it, blaming Harry for provoking their 'well-mannered' son.

Harry went to the shed along the side of the house and picked out a pair of well-worn gardening gloves that were way too big for his tiny hands. It was much better than digging into the dirt bare-handed, and he didn't really mind much anyway. He turned and made for the patch of petunias that were infested with the green little sprouts. He'd been battling this rough patch of weeds for weeks, yet they seemed to instantly multiply as soon as he pulled one out. There was a small rustling in one of the hedges nearer to him, but he played it off as a fleeing squirrel who had just noticed his presence.

He sighed as he got to work and settled on humming a tune he'd picked up from one of Dudley's discarded baby games. After about five minutes of weeding, Harry saw something silver in the dirt. He would've missed it if it hadn't been for the early sun reflecting off of the metallic surface. He observed it for a few moments before coming to a consensus. Anything in the Dursley's garden couldn't be that bad, they were perfectly and scarily normal after all.

He carefully extracted the hourglass shaped object from the mushy dirt and scanned it with curiosity. After minutes of pondering he still couldn't figure out what it was, and he decided to alert Aunt Petunia of the peculiar artifact. This was a difficult decision since Aunt Petunia absolutely hated anything unusual or out of the ordinary, yet the object shouldn't cause many issues. At best it was just a normal hourglass, and maybe it belonged to her and she'd just lost it while planting herself.

Harry stood up and brushed off his pants while kicking mud off his trainers. He made his way over to the back door and ascended the small step leading to porch. In the process of going through the kitchen door, he tripped on the frame and fell, breaking the mysterious object. Dust flew up into the air in a spiral, blocking his limited vision, and Aunt Petunia shrieked in surprise. That was the last thing Harry heard because all of a sudden, in a bright flash, he was transported somewhere in time with a slight jerk behind his navel.

**This story was originally posted a couple years ago but I've decided to re-vamp it. I can't promise any consistent update dates (since every time I set one I always seem to miss it :P) but I should update soon.**

**Thanks for reading, and if you liked it please let me know in a review!**

**~It's not called gymNICEtics~**


	2. Long Walks

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine, it belongs to J.k. Rowling**

**Chapter 2:**

Harry's vision was blinded as houses, trees, and vast expanses of land flew by. Just as soon as he was becoming accustomed to the strange feeling of flying through time, he landed with a resounding thud on a hard stone floor.

"…of the Living Death. Be sure not to forget the lacewing flies. You may begin." He caught the end of the lecture that a wobbly voice was giving before all sounds and commotion in the vicinity ceased immediately with his sudden arrival. His surroundings become clearer as the bright white light faded from his pupils. He had experienced a cool chill once he shook off his disorientation and was acutely aware of many sets of eyes resting upon his tiny figure. He haphazardly whipped his head back and forth, trying to take in the unfamiliar setting when a pressing thought came to the forefront of his mind. Aunt Petunia was going to _kill_ him. Not only did he not finish weeding, he also made an absolute mess of her kitchen, and he managed to somehow end up in some strange place. There would be hell to pay when she found out. He wasn't even going to dwell on his uncle's reaction because it was sure to be horrible. He could just make out Uncle Vernon's tiny head turning a deep red before a roaring yell emitted from his huge throat. No, this could not turn out well at all.

His breathing became heavier as he started to understand the full scope of the trouble he'd gotten himself into this time. It was after the anxiety attack that he realized this room contained no windows whatsoever. This was very strange to Harry since it reminded him of his cupboard, but this space mas much bigger than his bedroom could ever be. Whispers suddenly invaded his eardrums and a classroom of thirty or so people came into his field of vision. They were all adorned in peculiar clothing, like bathrobes except with a more serious uptake. But last time Harry had checked this was not at all a lavatory.

Getting his bearings, Harry slowly stood up, grasping the edge of a long black table for support. His legs were still mighty unstable after his uneasy journey and he faltered a bit as he struggled to regain his balance. This was definitely a school room. There were many large tables with giant soup-like bowls balancing on top of them. This was like some sort of twisted view of a kitchen with the fires going underneath the pots. Harry was very, very confused. He then noticed that all the school children were significantly taller than him, like three or four times his own height, granted he wasn't very tall in the first place.

It looked as though there were two separate groups of people; those in green and silver, and those in red and gold. Though they were different, they all adopted similar expressions of slack-jawed wonder and shock. It would have been a lie to say that Harry wasn't assuming a similar emotion. Many started to rush towards him, specifically a large, rotund man who had an interesting hat that resembled a pillow on his head.

"Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear." The frazzled professor uttered under his breath. He moved his hands rapidly, extremely clueless as to what should be done in a situation such as this one. His eyes bulged slightly as they rested on Harry, and his eyebrows seemed to rise into his nonexistent hairline. "Um…Evans! Potter!" He grasped to the names like a lifeline, "Please take this boy, to the Headmaster. Yes, right away." His gaze never left Harry as he gave out the instructions, "Quickly now."

The two students were already gawking at Harry's sudden appearance and were quick to his side once the words left the professor's mouth. Harry was dumbfounded and just stood there, not moving, and hoping that people would stop staring at him. He subconsciously smoothed his ruffled hair down over his scar as a nervous habit. The girl with violent red hair reached him first, her long robe whipping between her ankles as she rushed towards him. The boy wasn't far behind as he clumsily stumbled his way after her.

Harry's attention shifted to his near surroundings and he picked up tidbits of conversation happening around him, "What the-""Who is that?" "Awww he's so cute!" "Look at him! This is why I want kids someday." cooed a brown haired girl with subdued blue eyes. The man standing next to her flushed a deep red as he began to protest her statement.

Suddenly, Harry was ripped from his absent minded gazing by a loud comment very near his person "A bit out of place, aren't you?" chortled the Professor hesitantly, but all the same with a concerned expression on his face. The redhead next to him crouched down to his level, her remarkably green eyes piercing his own, "Hi." She stated, a bit lost for words" "I'm Lily and this," she gestured to the dark-haired man next to her, "is James." James coughed slightly as he slowly stooped down to assume the same position as her.

"Uh, we're going to take you to this bloke's office, we call him Professor Dumbledore." He rubbed the back of his neck as he attempted to inform Harry. The girl, Lily, narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to Harry. She reached out for his hand and gently grasped it. If Harry flinched at the slight contact, she didn't seem to notice or she just ignored the reaction. Both Lily and James straightened up, James brushing off his robes, and set a course for the exit. Harry couldn't get his feet moving at first, but after tripping over himself for a moment, regained the use of his limbs.

He looked up at the two the whole way to the door, partly to avoid the other students' staring, and partly because these people seemed so familiar. He brushed it off as a coincidence, but didn't let the revelation float completely to the back of his mind.

James sped up a little in order to reach the door first so as to hold it open for the both of them. Lily scoffed slightly yet regained her composure as her grip tightened on Harry's hand. He was having a hard time keeping up because this place was oh so interesting. Paintings were actually moving, and the room he appeared in before looked to be part of a rather expansive and elaborate establishment. This was a castle if he'd ever seen one.

The three walked together in silence; Harry in between James and Lily. The two students were at a loss as of what to say to the little boy they were escorting. Of course, this didn't last long as Lily's motherly instincts kicked in. "So," she started kindly, "What's your name?" Harry looked up at her and plainly stated, "Hawwy." Lily looked relieved to have gotten a response out of him and continued on with the light-hearted conversation.

"That's a lovely name." She said as they turned left out of the long corridor they had been traversing upon. "My grandfather's name was Harry. Was a nutty old chap that one." James contributed to their simple exchanging of words. He smiled to himself as if remembering the man he'd just mentioned before quickly averting his eyes from Lily's look of disapproval because of his abrupt response. Harry didn't know how to respond, and instead kept quiet. The awkward silence continued until they came to a mass of staircases. Harry froze in amazement and shock as he realized that the massive structures were actually moving and that there were hundreds of them all around the space in front of him. The two teenagers failed to notice his abrupt halt, until they had reached the first step of the staircase directly in front of them.

Lily quickly realized that Harry wasn't on the staircase just as it started moving and her eyes widened slightly at the possibility of leaving the small child by himself in the large castle. "Harry." She said sharply "Get on the staircase please." Harry flinched a little at her tone and she seemed to recognize her mistake as her eyebrows creased. Harry, however, had received the message and stepped rapidly onto the steps that were detaching from the landing with increasing speed. "Sorry, Harry, I was just worried. I didn't mean to-" Lily said, her words tumbling out of her mouth. "It ok." Harry replied softly, all the while looking at the floor.

Lily didn't seem to accept his reply but let the issue drop. "Do you know where your parents are Harry? Maybe we can get you back to them sooner if we know who they are?" she asked hopefully. James also seemed interested in what his reply would be and turned to look at Harry too.

"Um" Harry squirmed as he tried to formulate a decent response, "Don' know." He bit out. Lily exchanged a concerned glance with James before he started to inquire more. "Do you know their names?" James chimed in. "No." Harry replied while becoming very interested in the paintings and walls surrounding them. "Who dat?" He pointed suddenly at a portrait of a tall woman in a purple gown. The woman shot him a disgusted glance at being referred to so rudely and promptly sniffed and shuffled out of the painting to discuss Harry's behavior with her neighbor.

James stifled a snort while Lily let a small smile grace her features, which allowed tiny creases to form at the ends of her vibrant green eyes. Harry's mouth dropped open at the response he received from the woman and decidedly focused on their path ahead. Paintings were definitely not supposed to move, much less respond to his actions. "I'm not sure Harry." Lily replied, "There are so many paintings around here it's almost impossible to get to know each and every one, but I'll ask her once she calms down a little." She reassured him, still encompassing his tiny fingers in her palm.

They made a final right turn as the gargoyle adorning the entrance to Dumbledore's office came into view. James turned to Lily, "Do you know the password?" he inquired. She stood there a moment to gather the answer before responding with "Acid pop?" James shrugged and they waited a second before the gargoyle jumped out of the way and yet another staircase was revealed. "I promise this is the last one." James joked with Harry before the proceeded to ascend to the office.

Harry was amazed with the sudden change in environment, but Uncle Vernon hated it when he asked questions, so Harry tried very hard to keep his mouth shut, but his wide eyes and awed expression gave away all hints that he wasn't interested.

Harry very bravely stated, "It's like…magic!" as he struggled to clear each steep step. James and Lily exchanged another amused yet baffled glance with each other. James eventually took pity on Harry's efforts to get past the looming steps and lifted him into his arms. Harry was not used to this at all and his eyes widened as he looked at James in disbelief, but he let it go and played along.

Harry was very surprised with all the attention he was getting today. It had started seemingly normal, but now people were actually talking to him, without embedding an insult into each and every phrase they spoke towards him. It was a nice, but unfamiliar change that rendered Harry speechless and dumbfounded. He was grateful for James' attempt to make his journey up the stairs a tad bit easier, but it was such an unheard of action that Harry couldn't even muster a "thank you".

The short trip up the stairs ended abruptly as they were face with an intricate set of double doors. Lily rapped the wood lightly with her knuckles before it opened of its own accord along with a soft, "Come in." This astounded Harry, but once again, he kept his questions inside. James shifted Harry slightly before they entered the grand room. Lily hung back until the pair had passed her, and her gaze lingered a bit too long on James' back. This action went unnoticed by most, but a pair of knowing eyes looked upon the interaction with a special twinkle inside them.

"Ah. Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter, to what do I owe this pleasure?" The old man sitting behind the desk inquired. Harry could tell that this man was very old from his thinning white hair and his knobby fingers ridden with fragile skin and liver spots. His eyes were peering at Harry over the half-moon spectacles adorning his thin face. Harry experienced an odd feeling that he couldn't quite describe when his eyes met with the man's.

"Uh, well you see Professor, Harry here appeared in the middle of our potions class and Professor Slughorn told us to take him here. We don't know where he came from, or really anything about him." Lily finished meekly, her cheeks adopting a slight hue of red.

"I see." Dumbledore said, still looking at Harry intently. Lily uneasily shuffled her feet as she waited for Dumbledore's next response. Harry looked down and started picking at his dirty blue shirt that was many sizes too big for his small frame.

"Why don't you leave Harry here with me and you both get back to your classes. I assume Professor Slughorn has a lesson that needs to be completed." Dumbledore said. James nodded and gently put Harry down in one of the ornate chairs in front of a large wooden desk. Lily gave a small wave to Harry and muttered "Bye." Before she and James reluctantly left the room. Dumbledore waited until the pair of doors clicked shut before addressing Harry.

"Hello Harry. I guess I should begin by introducing myself." He said while curiously tilting his head to the side, a slight smile dancing across his lips. Harry was entranced by the long beard bobbing up and down as Dumbledore spoke.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am, how should I put it, the boss of this school." Harry looked up in slight interest at his words.

"This is a scwool?" Harry asked in amazement. Dumbledore chuckled softly before affirming Harry's question, "Yes, this is a school. Now would you mind telling me your full name Harry?"

Harry seemed to think deeply before responding, "Hawwy P" he was little stuck with the words following his last initial but eventually spit out the full title, "Powter? Auwnt Pe'unia say it befo'." Harry looked proud to have procured that bit of information that had been stowed away in the back of his brain, and sat up a little straighter in the much too big chair. It was a rather amusing sight, a little child puffing out his chest, which led to Dumbledore's smile cracking a little wider than before.

"That's very interesting Harry. Would you mind telling me about how you got to my school?" Harry's eyebrows drew together as he began to recall the strange events that brought him to the classroom. With his nose scrunched in thought he began, "I was puwwing wee's when I sees shiny ting in da gwass!" Harry threw up his hands for emphasis before continuing, "I pick it up ta show Auwnt Pe'unia bu' I twip an' it bwoke an' I was here."

Dumbledore nodded in feigned contemplation, "Think you've gone back through time Harry, but in the meantime why don't we get you cleaned up? Hm?"

Harry looked down to examine his dirt covered shirt and shorts and began to nod quickly in response. Dumbledore stood up from behind his desk, his dark blue robes fanning out behind him, and came to the chair that Harry was residing in. He offered his hand, so as to help him out of the tall chair, and Harry took it after a moment of hesitation. He slid off of the velvet fabric beneath him and bounced along beside Dumbledore. The man was very nice, after all, and Harry was very at ease in his presence.

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't such a bad thing after all to have come to this school.

**A/N **

**Sorry for the long wait, but I should be able to update in a few weeks or so (hopefully less, but we'll see).**

**Thank you for all the positive reviews I received and I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have to say about this chapter. Any criticism and advice is welcome.**

**Thank you and until next week :)**

"**Woohoo, Bailey's back." (see if you can guess the quote?)**


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